


The Watcher Chronicles: 1.03: Stand And Die

by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels)



Series: Watcher Chronicles [3]
Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-06
Updated: 2009-05-06
Packaged: 2017-10-02 18:25:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannamichaels/pseuds/Lanna%20Michaels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season one, episode three, in which sins of the past are revisited and there is a lot of coffee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Watcher Chronicles: 1.03: Stand And Die

Once upon a time, this was an episode about Charles Smythe, Methos, and choices. Once upon a time, this was an episode that asked the viewer to take a step back and decide if they were in any kind of position to judge Methos. Once upon a time, this was an episode about either euthanasia or teen suicide, depending on the draft. Once upon a time, Charles Smythe not only _in_ this episode, he _was_ this episode.

And then they scrapped it and rewrote it.

At some point, the series had to confront the fact that a lot about Methos is not safe for prime time. The first prime time obstacle for this show is that it's about a group of extra-legal voyeurs and stalkers. And then once you get past that, the main Immortal on the show is, of all people, Methos. He is not the most user-friendly of Immortals. Surely someone realized that before they made him a primary focus of a spin-off. Surely, someone must have realized this. When you look up "no hero" in the encyclopedia, there is a picture of Methos. And then they surrounded him with stalkers.

And somebody thought this was a great idea. Oh, the humanity.

So, Stand And Die. "That" episode. The one where, and I am not kidding, the writers considered having Methos accidentally throw a knife through Smythe's heart. How can you kill a pre-Immortal, let me count the ways.

The problem with this all is that Methos is our main protagonist. Most of the series revolves around him, his past, and his associates. Most of the Watchers in the show spend their lives obsessing about him. It would be one thing for the series to show a villain buying a slave and then killing him, but it's something entirely different when the guy doing that is supposed to be the hero. Standards &amp; Practices had a field day with this episode.

In fact, Standards &amp; Practices were not the ones to kill the original incarnation of this episode, but they're an easy target. The producers ended up scrapping it for other reasons, mostly having to do with plot and continuity. Smythe was already dead and would not be a series regular, so they were not giving him an entire episode this early in the season. They were not interested in losing viewers.

So they scrapped the entire plot, but kept the name. In retrospect, that was a good decision.

_-Zack Liu, television historian, extracted from The Watcher Chronicles: A Retrospective_

 

EXT. ALLEYWAY OUTSIDE OF METHOS'S APARTMENT

  
It is one of those dark and foggy nights that the Highlanderverse does so well. The UNIDENTIFIED WATCHER from previous episodes stands just outside of a darkened alleyway. He is lit by streetlamps. His name is QUINCY HARRIS. He is staring up at METHOS'S apartment.

KIM GREENWOOD walks up from behind him and moves to stand next to him. He mimics HARRIS'S stance, staring upward.

HARRIS:  
_[not looking at him]_ This doesn't concern you, Dr. Greenwood.

GREENWOOD:  
Anything having to do with my target is my concern.

HARRIS:  
This is a matter for the Tribunal, not for you.

GREENWOOD:  
You've been shadowing him for weeks. Did you really think we wouldn't notice?

HARRIS:  
It's against security protocol for you to have made contact. I'm disappointed, Doctor.

GREENWOOD:  
_[with great weight]_ Methos has noticed.

There is a beat. Both Watchers stare at the same point. Then GREENWOOD turns to look at him fully.

GREENWOOD:  
This is no longer a matter for the Tribunal. This is interference.

HARRIS:  
No greater than your own.

GREENWOOD:  
Methos knows I'm watching him. You, on the other hand, the impression he's getting about you is that you're an advance man for a challenge.

HARRIS:  
He'll have to learn that there are consequences to having tamed his head watcher.

GREENWOOD:  
If the Tribunal pulls me, I assure you, he will run. Having me in this position was part of his deal.

HARRIS:  
He's not a fool. He knows you're on our leash, not his.

GREENWOOD:  
Don't be too sure about that.

HARRIS:  
If I removed you from your position, what then? Would you help him run? It's a shame the way Methos turns all my good agents into traitors.

GREENWOOD:  
Methos has never asked me to choose between my duty to the Tribunal and my friendship with him.

HARRIS:  
And if he did?

GREENWOOD:  
_[firmly]_ Dawson went to his death. I would do the same.

HARRIS:  
_[nods]_ I won't leave until my assignment is completed, and then it will only be to report back to the Tribunal. Until then, Dr. Greenwood.

GREENWOOD:  
I wasn't finished.

HARRIS:  
Do tell.

GREENWOOD:  
You need to back off.

HARRIS:  
Really.

GREENWOOD:  
I mean it. When I left him twenty minutes ago, Methos was conspiring with Ruth March to trap you and get you to talk.

HARRIS:  
And you came to warn me?

GREENWOOD:  
If the Tribunal doesn't want to lose their only chance to watch Methos, they need to listen to the men on the ground. And I'm telling you to back the hell off.

HARRIS:  
And where was Methos when you left him?

GREENWOOD:  
You can read my report on the plane.

HARRIS:  
Careful, Dr. Greenwood. I don't like to make threats.

GREENWOOD:  
You're leaving on a flight in the morning. I don't appreciate interference on my territory. This is too important for the Tribunal to ruin just because they have an axe to grind.

HARRIS:  
You have greatly overstepped your authority.

GREENWOOD:  
It's that or explain to the Tribunal why Methos decided to kill you. It was a very simple decision.

HARRIS:  
And not yours to make. _[turns away from him to look into the street]_ Good night, Dr. Greenwood.

GREENWOOD looks at HARRIS one last time, then shakes his head. He turns on his heel and walks off into the night.

HARRIS pulls out a small notebook and makes a notation in it. There is a muffled sound behind him. HARRIS partially turns.

CLOSE-UP on a dagger being held to HARRIS'S throat. He swallows against it. The dagger angles higher.

HARRIS freezes. METHOS is behind him, mostly concealed in shadows.

METHOS:  
Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite executioner.

  
CREDITS.

INT. BRIEFING ROOM, METHOS PROJECT, WATCHER HQ, SEACOUVER  


There is a long conference table and a room that seems too small to hold it. About twenty watchers are crowded around the table. The walls are white and there are maps and charts pinned up and taped half-hazardly. The careful viewer will note that there is no picture of METHOS anywhere.

It is very early in the morning. Dawn is still breaking outside. Everyone around the table has a cup of coffee and at least three different file folders. Half the agents have laptops in front of them and they are e-mailing with other watchers who are not at the meeting. Everyone is exhausted. The ones who were not up all night had been woken up with the news. The only reason there is not pandemonium is because that happened an hour ago and everyone is too tired to do it again.

KIM GREENWOOD sits at the head of the table. He is the lord of this domain.

GREENWOOD:  
What time did we lose him?

GENE:  
10:35, in transit. He never returned to his apartment.

GREENWOOD:  
Tell me Quincy Harris is on that flight.

LAURA:  
_[shakes head]_ I've been on the phone with Paris every half hour. They haven't heard from him since he checked in last night. That was before you made contact.

GREENWOOD:  
I don't like coincidences. Where was Harris staying?

LAURA:  
Sheraton downtown under his own name.

GENE:  
No one there admits to seeing him.

GREENWOOD:  
_[points down the table]_ Paul.

PAUL:  
Already been down there. No sign he's been there. Last call from the room phone was down to the desk and before that was to Paris, checking in.

GENE:  
We passed around a photo and no one has seen Pierson either.

PAUL:  
A lot of people on campus say they've seen Harris, but--

GREENWOOD:  
_[interrupting him and finishing for him]_ Not since Pierson disappeared.

PAUL:  
Not since then, no.

WENDY:  
I hate to be the one to say this--

LAURA:  
Oh, just say it.

GREENWOOD:  
_[looks from one to the other]_ Oh, Jesus. Dawson, too?

WENDY:  
It's possible that he's on assignment.

LAURA:  
He's only been incommunicado since he closed the bar last night and that was a few hours ago. He might have gone home with somebody and not called it in. _[tentative]_ It's only been five hours.

GREENWOOD:  
Check the hospitals.

GENE:  
We have agents passing around Harris's photo at all the major ones. We'll circulate Joe's as well.

GREENWOOD:  
And the VA.

GENE:  
On it.

GREENWOOD:  
Where's Tom Ramirez?

PAUL:  
Should be at home.

GREENWOOD:  
You didn't call him in?

PAUL:  
_[defensively]_ He's not on the emergency list.

GREENWOOD:  
_[can't believe he has to spell this out]_ He reports to the Tribunal. A Tribunal member is missing.

PAUL:  
Sorry, sir. We'll get him in here.

GREENWOOD:  
And quickly. Laura, once he gets in, have him call Paris. If they'll talk to anyone, they'll talk to him.

LAURA:  
Right.

GREENWOOD:  
Call Amy Thomas, tell her we're giving her extra agents on Ruth March.

LAURA:  
She's bunking in the barracks. Should I bring her up?

GREENWOOD:  
No, let her sleep. _Her_ target hasn't vanished on her.

There is an uncomfortable silence. The last time they lost their target for this long, someone challenged him without letting him have a sword first.

GREENWOOD:  
I want all agents to be on the look out for Pierson. They see him, they call it in. They are _not_ to follow.

WENDY:  
Are we assuming he's a threat?

GREENWOOD:  
I don't like coincidences. By this point, he knows the Tribunal has been shadowing him. Worst case scenario, Dawson was in on it, maybe even was the reason for it. And Pierson knows we know about it. No one is to engage him until I personally say it is safe. Is that understood?

Everyone nods, looking much more spooked than they had when the meeting began.

GREENWOOD:  
Right now, he's a potentially hostile Immortal who may have taken Quincy Harris. That's our assumption. It is also possible that Harris has taken him into custody and decided on his own authority not to inform his Watchers. In that case, once Tom Ramirez gets here, he can tell us that himself, because I'm putting him under arrest for treason.

PAUL:  
_[softly]_ Sir.

The CAMERA pulls up. We see TOM RAMIREZ standing in the doorway. He is dressed casually in jeans and his leather jacket. He looks like he has just left the bar.

TOM:  
I'll save you the trouble.

TOM sits down and puts his elbows on the table. His jacket gapes and we see that his shoulder holster is empty.

TOM:  
My last contact with Quincy Harris was a phone conversation yesterday morning. He did not say anything that would indicate that he was about to make any kind of move.

TOM reaches across the table and grabs someone's coffee mug. He drinks down half of it and then covers a yawn.

TOM:  
He was supposed to check in last night after closing. He didn't show.

GREENWOOD:  
You didn't alert anyone?

TOM:  
He's a Tribunal member, I'm not his contact, and no one is under investigation.

GREENWOOD:  
Other than Pierson.

TOM:  
_[shakes his head]_ He isn't.

GREENWOOD:  
Am I?

TOM:  
_[firmly]_ No one is under any official or unofficial investigation.

GREENWOOD:  
So why the hell do I have a missing Tribunal member?

TOM:  
And a missing support coordinator for Seacouver.

PAUL:  
_[muttering]_ Oh, Christ.

GREENWOOD:  
How and when did you manage to lose Dawson?

TOM:  
_[sarcastically]_ Well, it took a lot of talent...

GREENWOOD:  
Oh, I'm sure.

TOM:  
_[sigh]_ He was locking up. It was late. I went to the back to tidy up and call HQ to see if the night watch needed anything from Support.

GREENWOOD:  
And when you looked up, he was gone?

TOM:  
I figured he'd left and I just didn't hear him. Took me a couple hours to finish with the backroom and then catch up on paperwork and wait for Harris to show. He never did. Left the bar around two. Went to Dawson's house to check in on him, he wasn't there.

GREENWOOD:  
Then what?

TOM:  
Sometimes he walks around the neighborhood when he can't sleep. So I checked the local landmarks and checked in with the police if they've seen him. Then I called his usual haunts, anything that might be open in the middle of the night. Woke up Amy Thomas, she hadn't seen him. Woke up the MacLeod team in Glasgow, haven't heard from him. Woke up half the Watchers in Europe, found out that you've lost Harris, then I came here to wake you lot up and now I find out that you've lost Pierson, too. Hell of a night.

GREENWOOD:  
Yeah.

TOM:  
So Dawson's assumed missing. Bar's set to open at noon, so we'll find out at eleven if it's not what we think and Dawson's there to open it. Otherwise, we're missing Harris, Dawson, and Pierson. I asked security for a head count and they said they'll have it within three hours.

PAUL:  
I, uh, I'm on that.

TOM:  
Fine. _[to GREENWOOD]_ Your turn. How'd you lose Pierson?

GREENWOOD:  
Transit.

TOM:  
Did you--

GREENWOOD:  
One day that locator in his car will actually work.

TOM:  
_[nods]_ Right.

GREENWOOD:  
And if no one is being investigated, then what the hell was Harris doing here?

TOM:  
Nothing official, nothing unofficial. As far as you are concerned, he's here on vacation.

GREENWOOD:  
So it's off everyone's books?

TOM:  
It's at this point I'm supposed to tell you to stop asking questions, Kim.

GREENWOOD:  
Uh-huh.

TOM:  
So let's just assume I did and you put a gun to my head.

GREENWOOD:  
_[nods, understanding]_ Clear the room.

Everyone but TOM and GREENWOOD quickly grabs their things and leaves, looking very glad to get out of that room. When they are all gone, TOM stands up and closes the door. He locks it, then walks over to a corner. He pries a grate off and then grabs a security camera. He breaks it. He does the same to the opposite camera.

TOM:  
This can't leave this room.

GREENWOOD nods.

COMMERCIAL BREAK.

 

INT. BASEMENT  


The room is sparse with concrete walls. It is lit by florescent lights. QUINCY HARRIS is tied to a chair. METHOS sits across from him with his feet propped up on another stool. JOE DAWSON is pacing the room behind them. METHOS looks dangerously cheerful. From his demeanor, it is easy to understand why he enjoys the company of megalomaniacs.

JOE:  
You idiot. Do you have any idea how long it took me to find you?

HARRIS:  
Dawson, stay out of this or you'll be up on conspiracy charges, too.

METHOS:  
You're not in a position right now to give him orders.

JOE:  
Adam, you're not helping.

METHOS:  
He's interfering. That means I get to kill him, right? _[pause]_ That was the deal, wasn't it?

JOE:  
You're not killing him.

METHOS:  
Why not? I like to return favors.

JOE:  
He's after me, not you. You're just--

METHOS:  
Yes, Joe. I know what I am. _[gestures to another chair]_ Sit down, Joe. You're just in time to hear Mr. Harris apologize to you. Isn't that thoughtful of him?

HARRIS:  
Like hell--

JOE:  
_[ignores HARRIS completely]_ Shapiro is dead, Adam. This entire issue is dead. It's all over.

METHOS:  
Oh, it's not only about Shapiro. Mostly, it's about him.

HARRIS:  
I'm here on the Tribunal's orders, investigating your continued treachery. This is a matter for them, not for petty vigilantism.

METHOS:  
As soon as I saw you, I knew what this is about. And if you think I'm going to let that happen, you are out of your mind.

HARRIS:  
You don't give orders to the Tribunal.

METHOS:  
You're not part of the Tribunal. You're the Tribunal's kill squad.

JOE:  
Not all of it.

METHOS:  
Yes, that's right. Where's young Tom?

JOE:  
Keeping out of this. _[opens a package of cookies on the table and eats one]_ Smart kid. He washed his hands of it as soon as he heard.

HARRIS:  
He told you?

JOE:  
Naw. At my age, you recognize the signs when the Tribunal is trying to find a reason to kill you. And Tom has always been very concerned for my health.

METHOS:  
_[aside]_ How have you been feeling?

JOE:  
Just peachy. _[eats another cookie]_ So let's just let him go and we can forget this ever happened.

METHOS:  
Sorry, Joe. I can't do that.

JOE:  
You're not the kidnapping type, Adam.

METHOS:  
My deal with the Tribunal was that they leave you alone. This is not leaving you alone.

HARRIS:  
I had no contact with--

METHOS:  
_[kicks his chair over backwards]_ I didn't tell you to speak.

JOE:  
_[swears under his breath]_

METHOS:  
_[to JOE]_ You can stay where you are or leave. This is between me and the Tribunal.

JOE:  
_[frustrated]_ Adam, I was handling this situation myself. He's not some bully on the playground taking my lunch money. I know how to deal with these people.

METHOS:  
_[looks at the clock on the wall pointedly]_ Don't you have a bar to open?

JOE:  
Tom can handle it.

METHOS:  
_[very, very, very casually]_ Do you recall how I informed the Tribunal I would return their members should they interfere?

JOE:  
They've read your Chronicle. They know what you're capable of.

METHOS:  
I'm not so sure. Maybe it's time I showed them. _[looks at HARRIS, beat]_ Maybe I should have a long time ago.

JOE:  
I'm not going to let you kill him.

METHOS:  
I wasn't asking your permission.

JOE:  
Yeah, well, maybe you should. You're not my knight in shining armor. You don't have to protect me.

METHOS:  
You protect your friends, Joe. And you're my friend.

METHOS and JOE exchange a look. METHOS is clearly enjoying this entire situation on a truly disturbing level. JOE looks like he wishes he were anywhere else and had never met METHOS.

JOE:  
Then, _friend_, why won't you let me decide how much I want you to protect me?

METHOS:  
I didn't hear you complaining when I made my deal.

JOE:  
That's what happens when you hold a knife to our throats and dictate terms. People don't tend to complain until afterwards.

METHOS:  
Their loss.

JOE:  
I'm not going to sit here and watch you kill him.

METHOS:  
The door's open. You're free to leave.

JOE:  
_[closes his eyes and looks away, says very softly]_ Adam, please don't make me beg for his life.

METHOS:  
I'm not making you do anything, Joe.

JOE:  
Yeah? Sure looks like it from here.

METHOS:  
What does his life mean to you? You hate him. This isn't the first time he's tried to have you killed.

JOE:  
We all have jobs to do. I knew that when I took my oath.

METHOS:  
Oh, no. No, no, no. You rolled over and let them kill you once. That's not going to happen again.

JOE:  
They don't have anything to charge me with this time. They don't have any kind of case to make against me. It's _fine_, Adam. At least, it was before you grabbed him.

METHOS:  
And you trust them to follow their own rules on this?

JOE:  
Yes, damn you.

METHOS:  
Well, I don't.

JOE:  
Okay, fine. Spoon-feed me, Adam. What do you think is going on here?

METHOS:  
I think our good Mr. Harris here isn't building a case.

JOE:  
Why the hell not?

METHOS:  
Because if he were, Kim would have known better than to break his cover. Because Kim would have been informed of the ongoing investigation. He would have known that the Tribunal is after you, not me. And he doesn't.

JOE:  
_[groaning]_ I don't want to know how the hell you managed to get Greenwood to lead you to him.

METHOS:  
Don't worry about him. He didn't break any rules in the process.

JOE:  
Did he even know he was doing it?

METHOS:  
_[thoughtfully]_ Apparently I have him on a leash. Do you think I should get him one? His birthday's coming up. He would appreciate the symbolism.

JOE:  
Adam, you can't use your Watchers to hunt.

METHOS:  
Immortals. I can't use my Watchers to hunt Immortals.

JOE:  
You can be so anal-retentive sometimes.

HARRIS:  
_[from the floor]_ Pierson, by this point, they know we're both gone and they've sounded every alarm. So get this over with or let me go, because the cavalry will find me soon.

METHOS:  
_[to JOE]_ He does have a point. Give me your phone.

JOE hands him his phone and looks apprehensively at HARRIS.

JOE:  
_[to HARRIS]_ You had to call his bluff.

METHOS turns JOE'S phone on and scrolls through the numbers.

METHOS:  
Who's your emergency contact, Harris?

There is a beat. HARRIS says nothing.

JOE:  
It'll probably be Tom.

HARRIS:  
_[hisses]_ Traitor.

METHOS:  
How do you think Tom would like it, Harris, to find you gift-wrapped and left on his doorstep? It would save him the trouble of having to find you.

JOE:  
Leave Tom out of this, Adam. It was his decision to have nothing to do with it.

METHOS:  
All right.

HARRIS:  
_[to himself]_ All my best Watchers.

METHOS:  
What was that?

HARRIS:  
_[louder]_ You've managed to get your fingers into all my best Watchers. I should never have let you leave Paris alive.

METHOS:  
Last train's left the station, Harris. It's too late for regrets.

JOE:  
Enough of this already.

JOE grabs his phone out of METHOS'S hand and starts dialing a number.

We hear the cocking of a gun.

METHOS'S gun is pointed at HARRIS and he does not take his eyes off of him.

METHOS:  
You're right, Joe. Enough stalling. This ends now.

INT. BRIEFING ROOM, METHOS PROJECT, WATCHER HQ, SEACOUVER  


There is a loud noise that turns out to be a coffee mug slamming down hard on a table. TOM RAMIREZ is half-leaning against the conference table. KIM GREENWOOD is sitting down and has his face buried in his hands.

GREENWOOD:  
Shit.

TOM:  
Yeah, that about sums it up.

GREENWOOD:  
I hate it when it turns out they have a terminal disease. They think it excuses everything.

TOM:  
This is as off-the-books as it gets, Kim. The in-fighting in the Tribunal is only getting worse. Harris has been picking at those scabs for years now, and it's all unwinding at just the perfect time for him to get authorization to do _this_. He wants to take somebody with him. If that had been Pierson, believe me, I would have found a way to alert you. But it's not Pierson he's after.

GREENWOOD:  
Too hard a target?

TOM:  
_[shakes his head]_ He's a purist, so he's after Dawson for playing games with the MacLeod Chronicle. At least when Pierson made a holy mess of the Methos Chronicle, it was in his own self-interest. Dawson was playing god and then lying about it. There are some who think Dawson got off too easy. They're willing to look the other way.

GREENWOOD:  
Is there any good news in this?

TOM:  
Harris will be dead soon. Four Tribunal members will resign or be removed. They'll adjourn for a week of mourning and when they re-convene, it will be a different Tribunal.

TOM finishes off his coffee and then rubs the back of his neck.

TOM:  
I've been running interference on Harris since he arrived and, in all honesty, Kim, this is something I have to continue to handle myself. If you get in the middle, you can't win.

GREENWOOD:  
And you can?

TOM:  
Here's some more bright side for you. If I can't, Harris has just turned Methos into another Jacob Galati.

GREENWOOD:  
Just what I needed. _[groans, then looks down. He looks up]_ Oh, get your own damn coffee.

 

  
COMMERCIAL BREAK.

 

INT. BATHROOM IN BASEMENT  


It is a small, functional bathroom with a stained white sink and a cracked mirror.

CLOSE-UP on METHOS as he turns the faucet on. He lets it run for a moment, then soaps his hands and washes them off. Behind him, we see a body on the floor. He turns the water off.

  
INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR  


TOM RAMIREZ walks down the hallway, looking like just another patron. He stops in front of a room.

CLOSE-UP on his hands as he checks the handle. He is wearing latex gloves.

He pulls a swipe card out of his back pocket and opens the door.

  
INT. HOTEL ROOM  


It is a medium priced nondescript hotel room. There is a moderate size mess from where the Watchers had tossed the room in a hurry and not put everything back where it should be. TOM RAMIREZ goes directly to the bathroom. He rummages around, then pulls out a lockbox. He takes the key out of his pocket and opens it.

CLOSE-UP on a gun in the box, on top of a passport and assorted other documentation. We see that many of them are medical documents.

TOM checks the gun, then removes the ammunition. He shuffles through the papers. He takes a few papers and the gun out of the box, then locks it.

He stands up. He puts the box near the door, then starts to set up the stage for the hotel cleaning staff to discover a suicide.

  
INT. BASEMENT  


METHOS is gone. JOE DAWSON sits at the table, staring at a blood-stain on the floor. He takes a deep breath, then dials a number on his phone.

JOE:  
It's Dawson.

INT. HEAD OFFICE OF THE METHOS PROJECT, WATCHER HQ, SEACOUVER  


KIM GREENWOOD is sitting at the long table. He is alone in the room and has a list in front of him. Several of the names are crossed out.

GREENWOOD:  
_[on the phone]_ What happened?

JOE:  
_[over the phone]_ I need a clean-up crew.

GREENWOOD:  
_[rips the sheet off the notepad and poises his pen over it]_ Okay. Where are you?

 

  
INT. BASEMENT  


It is about an hour later. Watchers are crawling all over the place, taking measurements and photographs. JOE DAWSON is gone. KIM GREENWOOD is quietly giving orders. He looks up. TOM RAMIREZ is standing in the doorway.

TOM nods at him. When GREENWOOD looks up again, TOM is gone.

 

  
INT. METHOS'S APARTMENT  


METHOS, whistling, opens to the door to his apartment. He rummages through his mail, then tosses it onto the floor. He gives a wave in the direction of the Watchers across the street, then pointedly closes the blinds with a sharp snick.

 

  
INT. HEAD OFFICE OF THE METHOS PROJECT, WATCHER HQ, SEACOUVER  


It is much later and is dark outside. JOE DAWSON, KIM GREENWOOD, and TOM RAMIREZ are sitting around the briefing table.

TOM:  
I realize I don't have the authority to give you direct orders.

GREENWOOD:  
_[barks a laugh]_ But you're going to do it anyway.

TOM:  
Things are...tense.

GREENWOOD:  
I'm not going to help you cover your ass because you disobeyed an order.

TOM:  
My _orders_ were to--

JOE:  
_[interrupting him]_ We know. And I don't care. My concern is this: Adam wanted this to make his Chronicle.

GREENWOOD:  
He did it to send a message?

JOE:  
He went somewhere that he knew I could find. He wanted this in his Chronicle.

GREENWOOD:  
It will be in it.

TOM:  
Harris was not here on the Tribunal's orders.

GREENWOOD:  
And if he had succeeded? Would they have claimed credit then?

TOM:  
You haven't been listening to me.

GREENWOOD:  
You haven't been saying much. Just that we have to whitewash a Chronicle on your authority. Which you don't have.

TOM:  
Harris wasn't here on any kind of investigation.

JOE:  
Tom, we know he was here to find a pretext to kill me.

TOM:  
_[pause, then makes a choice]_ No. He was _here_ so I could kill him. I hope I don't need to remind either of you that, too, does not leave this room.

GREENWOOD:  
How were you supposed to make it look like natural causes?

JOE:  
_[overlapping GREENWOOD]_ Getting an Immortal to kill a Watcher is--

TOM:  
_[puts a hand up, says very deliberately]_ As this concerns the Methos Chronicle, Methos killed a rogue Watcher.

GREENWOOD:  
No, you killed a rogue Watcher.

TOM:  
On the order of the Tribunal, which, I remind you, is my job.

GREENWOOD:  
This sure as hell isn't.

JOE:  
How much did you tell Adam?

TOM:  
What I had to.

GREENWOOD:  
Did Adam volunteer for this?

TOM:  
Adam hates Harris. That's a matter of record. It goes back to before Galati, and that massacre only made it worse. No one will be surprised to find out that Adam did this. Had I done it myself on a writ of execution, there would be questions the Tribunal is not interested in answering. As it was, it was a closed session, all records sealed, and the majority decision was that he had to die sooner rather than later. I did what had to be done.

GREENWOOD:  
_[looks at TOM with a mix of anger and admiration]_ You are a scheming bastard.

TOM:  
I've been obeying orders.

There is a beat while they all look at each other.

JOE:  
Well, aren't we a merry band of interferers.

 

  
INT. HOTEL ROOM  


QUINCY HARRIS'S body is laid out as if he had shot himself. There is a knock on the door, then the cleaning staff enters. There is a scream.

 

  
INT. METHOS'S APARTMENT  


METHOS is sitting on his couch. The television is on in the background. There is a knock on the door. METHOS stands up and opens the door. On the other side is MARK GRADIN. He is wearing a black short-sleeve shirt and black jeans. We see that he does not have a watcher tattoo. His haircut and bearing scream military.

METHOS:  
Pizza will be here in five.

METHOS steps backwards and GRADIN comes in.

 

  
COMMERCIAL BREAK

 

INT. JOE'S BAR  


It is early and the bar is not yet open. Cars and buses pass by outside. TOM RAMIREZ is sitting at a booth, a laptop and a half-eaten sandwich before him.

He takes a sip of water out of the bar glass in front of him and stares at the wall for a moment longer. He then turns to his laptop and starts typing.

TOM:  
_[typing]_  
To: Camilla DiPersio, Tribunal Secretary  
From: Tom Ramirez, Coordinator, Special Projects, US North West

Harris is dead.

You're welcome.

 

TOM stares at the screen for a moment, then erases the last line.

 

TOM:  
_[typing]_ Please inform the Tribunal that no reference to Harris's rank will appear in the Methos Chronicle. As ordered, he is listed only as a rogue Watcher.

I would also like to put on record my objection as to the repeated use of gag orders, which only complicate matters. Kim Greenwood pulled his weapon on me and nearly shot me. It took further convincing for him to not put me up on charges of falsifying a Chronicle. I remind the Tribunal that falsifying a Chronicle remains a sore subject with the Methos Project, especially among the veterans of the Pierson era.

The Tribunal requested that they not be informed of the manner I executed my duty. However, I must remind them that the situation in Seacouver is very fragile. Coordinator Dawson does not appreciate it when his subordinates are given secret orders. If my services are further required in this regard, I remind the Tribunal that my passport is up-to-date. I am capable of flying to Paris as duty dictates.

T. E. Ramirez.

 

TOM sits back in the booth. He stares out of the window, watching the foot traffic.

  
FADE TO BLACK. 


End file.
